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The 77th Brigade was patrolling the skies above Mexico. Three Medea's and nearly two dozen fighter crafts. One of which was a Dish aircraft, it's sensor equipment was capable of detecting enemy formations at great distance. Which it was currently doing as Jim Irwin stepped onto the bridge of the Mississippi. "What are we looking at?" he questioned the captain. The Captain briefly glances over at Jim. "Looks to be a formation of enemy fighters and mobile suits." he responded. Jim cursed, it was his policy to avoid fighting mobile suits. "We can't out run the Dopps. So we'll try for a fighting retreat." said the Captain as if reading Jim's thoughts. Jim nodded and headed for the Hangar. Rhett Paruta was in the lead of his MS formation. Just ahead of him was a formation of ten dopp's. He could see the Medea's now and the Tin Cod's peeling off heading towards them. "The Dopp's will engage the enemy fighters. We'll provide limited support before engaging the medeas." Radioed Rhett to his team. Seconds later the fighter formations clashed. Missiles and vulcan rounds filled the air as the fighters clashed. Explosions and smoke filled the sky as planes exploded. In the initial exchange six tin cods were shot down while the dopps toke a loss of only three. "Move into the!" Rhett ordered as he sprayed fire from his machine gun. His team backed his fire up and a further three tin cods fell. Seconds later they were through the enemy fighters heading straight towards the medeas. Rhett and his team were greeted by AA fire from the formation of Medeas. "Watch it!" he yelled at his team. Jim cursed as he saw more fighters explode as the Zeon ms drove through them. He pulled back on his fighters stick and punched a few rounds into an enemy dopp as his fighter swung around. "Stick together." He radioed to the other Cod's and fired off another burst into another dopp. Jim turned his head side to side scanning for the Zeon ms. He finally caught sight of them trading fire with the Medeas. Pushing the Throttle up Jim's Tin Cod shuddered heavily. "Looks like it's still not 100%." he mumbled to himself. His Fighter shot forward as he lined up just behind the Zeon ms. "Try this!" he yelled as his fighters two missiles launched forward. Rhett clenched his teeth as the Dodai YS under him shifted to avoid a particularly bad burst of AA fire. Rhett's suit had already caught plenty of fire just like it anyway. [i]We aren't doing enough damage[/i] Thought Rhett. They'd done decent damage to all three Medeas but all three were still flying. Just as he was about to order his team to attack again he heard Dino cry out. Looking back he saw Dino's Gouf pitch off it's Dodai. The back of his suit was flaming and seconds later secondary explosions tore the suit in half. "Damn it!" yelled Rhett as his Dodai and Genevieve's swung around. He saw Dino's Dodai take a burst of fire and slam into the roof ofthe Flying Dutchman before cartwheeling off and exploding. "Pull back." he ordered Genevieve. Jim saw the two remaining Zaku's peel off. Pulling back on his stick his fighter came around again. He saw most of the dopps had been shot down. He considered taking his fighter in to back up the others. But his plane hadn't stopped shuddering since he had accelerated from before. [i]I think I'll let them finish the mop up[/i] Thought Jim as he guided his ship into the bay of the Mississippi. Rhett Paruta 5 VP gained, Repairing 2 Jim Irwin 7 VP gained, Repairing +1 A fleet of massive trucks barreled down a coastal road somewhere in Russia. It was frigid and unforgiving weather, much like anything Russian. The trucks strained to keep running, choking and spinning the air like a sick dog on its last leg. Des Mielle cursed ever leaving Africa and let go of the wheel to try to warm his hands under his arms. He nearly crashed into the embankment, the load out back shifting ever so slightly. He was new to driving in inclement weather, having grown up with mostly sunshine and sand. But, as evident from the miles behind him, he was learning quickly. He glanced back at the flatbed. The Zaku, ghostly under the white tarpaulin and snow, was still there, thankfully. The men, unable to fit in the cab, sat huddled together, most likely frost-bitten and dispirited. He sighed a breath of relief, regardless, but then took a moment to mourn for them. A lot of them would be missing toes and fingers after this little endeavor. But they had a mission to do and all of them knew it. They had signed up for it, after all. Maybe they hadn't signed up for this, exactly, but they were in it for the good fight. Somehow, deep inside his chaotic interior, he loved them for it. After harassing the Zeon holdings in Africa, Des had successfully taken the fight to the enemy. He ambushed the Zeon's mystery mobile armor—something he, himself, had been wary of—and survived. He'd accomplished much for just a mere man with an ideal. He'd been reckless throughout the campaign, though—throwing person after person into the grinder. So many had been lost. But he'd gotten results and, in the end, wasn't that all that really mattered? Sergei laughed suddenly, jerking Des out of his little reverie. Although not from Russia, he was accustomed to the cold and rather preferred it. "You look like you need another layer, comrade general!" Mielle gave him a look that was icier than any penguin-infested glacier. The great African Liberator felt miserable, and apparently he fit the bill. "Okay, sorry, boss." Sergei folded his arms and quieted immediately. As they rounded a corner, the frozen sea came full into view. It was a sobering sight and Des felt his stomach shrink a few sizes. They were thirty or so meters above sea level, and barely a knife's length from the edge of the road. Des sighed internally and trooped on. What more could he do? Somewhere under the ice, a beast had awakened. Although Africa was half a continent away, the effects of Des Mielle's insurgency was still felt. Unbeknowst to anyone but the highest echelons of Zeon High Command, a small strike force stalked the cold depths off of Russia's main mountain chain looking for him. They were searching, scouring the coastline for anything man-made. So far they'd come across a sleepy trapping town, a few cars, and a fishing boat. Xavier Brennan, on the bridge, nearly sank or destroyed every one of the aforementioned targets. He was on edge, adrenaline pumping through his system. His "loose cannon" behavior was at its extreme, especially under such circumstances. Marina had stayed his hand, of course, giving him a glance every now and then that said, "calm yourself." He was happy he'd transferred over last-minute after they'd launched the Grabro to help the search. It was reassuring having her close by, but he feared for her. That's what happened when relations developed during battle, you started to lose your edge. He knew she was a soldier but his fatherly intuition screamed to grab her and lock her in a fallout shelter somewhere in the middle of the desert or something, anywhere she'd be safe. But they were soldiers and that was that. He'd do his duty, and he knew she would too. So far she'd totally exceeded his expectations, as well as everyone else's she'd ever served with. He was proud of her. "Sir, we have three contacts approaching from the south west," said the comm officer, coming to attention almost immediately. "Go to periscope and identify." Marina sat upright, knowing full well that their target wouldn't have the technology to spot them. They weren't Feddies, after all, just men. They'd stayed submerged as a precaution, biding their time. "Three heavy transports, sir. Unknown amount of individuals." Marina glanced at Xavier, but he'd already started for the mobile suit pool. He turned back and winked. She went into action. "Prepare to surface and launch MIRV, instruct the rest of the fleet to maintain continuous fire support on the following coordinates." She nodded to the comm officer to punch them in. She loosened her grip on the command chair and sat backwards, a smile on her lips. "Launch mobile suits when ready, Obersturmfuhrer." By the time she'd finished her instructions, he was already to the pool. He heard her words over the loudspeaker and cherished them like they were her last. He'd return to her, this he promised. Something over the horizon smoked, and it kept growing and gaining altitude. Sergei had spotted it first, thank god, but it'd be a close one. It started coming back down as if it were some sort of space shuttle making reentry. He didn't know what or who it was but he could probably outrun it. Or, in the least, take the trucks for a little muddin' up the slope. He put the pedal to the metal and drove her like a horse, pushing it to its limits. The other trucks followed suit, and they were about in the clear. It looked like the African Union would live to see another day. Des' jaw dropped as the missile split into an uncountable cloud of smaller warheads. They started pounding the ground behind them, one by one, and gaining. Fernando, several car lengths at the end of the caravan, was engulfed in a cloud of fire in seconds. Des saw it rising in his rear view mirror and did the only thing he could think of. He slammed on the breaks. The truck skitted, fish-tailing for several yards, then struck a giant boulder and flipped over. Everyone was screaming, including Des. The cacophony of bombs falling and men dying enveloped him until there was nothing more than blackness. Xavier and Finus had reached the shoreline moments after the last warhead fell. They'd ordered all fire teams to stand down nearly ten minutes into the blasting, quite certain they'd met their mark. They stood speechless, in awe of the destruction they had unleashed. The road had completely vanished as far as the eye could see and the mountain it sat on was little more than a pock-marked quarry. Nothing could have survived. Xavier motioned with his Z'Gok to secure the area, still not entirely convinced it was all over. He may be a "loose cannon," but that didn't mean he wasn't a thorough one. They moved from boulder to boulder, occasionally turning one or another to check underneath. There wasn't anything to be found, not even a vehicle carcass or mobile suit limb. "Area secure, mien obersturmfuhrer." Yamamoto was all pride, very pleased that he had a hand in defeating the insurgency. Xavier didn't know how anyone could be proud of such one-sided tactics. "The area is not secure until I say it is. Move your men to the blast radius and help me move this last rock." The unterscharfurher barked to his men, and the Dom's skated off obediently. The Z'Gok pushed as the Gouf shot its cable and pulled from the other end. Between their combined might, they rolled the slag to one side. A charred, tousled truck skeleton was stuck in the mud, somewhat preserved from the blast by the weight of the boulder. It was almost unfound. "Ah, so we have some evidence of our success to present to our peers!" Xavier hushed him with another motion of his Z'Gok. It read: we leave no stone unturned. Together, again, they heaved until the truck was on its side. Underneath, miraculously, was a single man, completely shell-shocked and bleeding. One of his legs was gone, and his body looked mangled beyond repair. This had to be Des Mielle, the insurgency's leader—fate would have it no other way. He was still alive, but for how long it wasn't certain. Xavier opened a link to the outside. "You're under arrest for illegal armed actions against the Duchy of Zeon. Lay down your arms and come peaceably." He felt hollow hollering these words at a broken man. From what he read, the radical leader of the AU was an energetic, high-spirited individual who loved his nation and people fiercely. He could definitely empathize in this moment of weakness. He ordered Finus to descend and arrest the man, but before he could manage, the seemingly harmless, crest-fallen man pulled a cylindrical, elongated device that anyone who was familiar with Des knew exactly what it was. "Lesotho. I'm coming home." Des' eyes were full of tears as he fired the RPG at the blue mobile, the one he figured was doing the talking. His mind was full of brilliantly visions of African plains, dry grass wisping in the wind as the dry season approached. Jess, Aleena, Ted, Jocelyn, Elden, Sergei. They were gone, dead. Their spirits adrift in this endless field. Omar. He was there, too. He stood, waving. Fernando was next to him, a giant grin on his sharp-featured face. They were all there, waiting for him. Soon, he'd be there too. It was so warm there. So warm. "Yamamoto! Stand dow--" But it was too late. The blast hit the Gouf right under the cockpit. Finus had seen the rocket coming and jumped several meters into the muck, but the blast hit the Gouf square in the cockpit. Xavier saw the half-dead man trying to reload. Astonished, he grabbed the edge of the truck and brought it down on top of Des, then struck his pincer though the heap. It was done. The man had warranted an entire elite SS squadron to bring down, and even in the end when he was out-manned and severely out-gunned, he'd continued to fight. He envied that sort of blind conviction. "Finus? Do you read?" Xavier was only mildly concerned. The subofficer waved his hands over his head in acknowledgment, clearly enraged. He didn't care. He radioed in to Marina for retrieval. It was finally done. Xavier Brennan: 7/2 VP gained, Fatigued 1 Finus Yamamoto: 8 VP gained, Repairing 2 Des Mielle: 5 CP gained, Killed in Action --- ... --- --- ... --- "Mayday, mayday, mayday" --- ... --- --- ... --- "Anyone out there?" The radio remained silent for a few moments as the crew in distress continued to call out to an approaching ship."This is Robert Kelly of the Pied Piper, come in, can you help us? Our nuclear reactors have become unstable, we don't have much time!" The radio tech paused for a second before continuing his act. "If you can get us away from here, you are welcome to whatever cargo you can carry off the dock, just save us!" "What do you think Ma'am?" The Solarium Masquerade's own radio technician looked back from his listening post, awaiting his captain's orders. The beautiful rogue captain rubbed the side of her temple, taking a moment to brush her hair behind her ears as she listened to the pleas and bribes echoing across the open channel; part of her wanted to ignore the distress call, but her greed got the better of the lady. "Prepare to dock, let them know we are indeed assisting them..." "Aye Sir!" The young man radioed back to the panicked crew of the Pied Piper. "Kelly, we are preparing to dock, we will be ready for your crew to board us momentarily. Captain Mahara has requested that all able hands assist with the loading of whatever cargo we can afford to take with us. Copy?" "Roger that Solarium Masquerade, we will prepare to recieve you right away." They cut radio communications as the crew began to snicker. Robin Sayer looked over his shoulder and nodded to the guerillas that had disguised themselves as mechanics and merchants. James Radcliffe stayed hidden in his Zaku II C, well out of sight, hugging the underside of the floating dock. "Good, good... This is great!" Captain Riley chuckled to himself as he watched his plan unfold from the bridge of Ol' Jove's Bones. The older gentleman's trinkets and jewelry jingled as he let out a hardy laugh. He'd have that ship before long, and the thrill of it all excited the old pirate. "Time for us to make our grand entrance Addie, take us in, let us prepare the boarding party!" "Aye sir!" The eccentric pirate wench nodded in acknowledgement as she began prepping their approach. Once she had the crew straightened out she jumped into her Zaku II and dropped from the back of the transport craft. She shakily piloted her suit into position just below the Bones and held her position. Addie shouldered the suit's bazooka and confirmed a firing solution on her display monitors. "Sir, I have the ship in sight, awaiting your permission to fire." Jacobin stood over the gun crews of the Ol' Jove's Bones, waiting for them to acknowledge that they had a firing solution. "We also have a firing solution sir, ready when you are..." Jacobin waited to give the signal. "Unleash the cannons! Fire at will!" The captain pointed emphatically out the front display glass of the transport, his finger targeting the enemy vessel. He held the pose for a second, waiting until he was rewarded with an explosion at the rear of the enemy craft. "Target's engines have been disabled sir." The woman announced over the comm channel as she floated in space debating what she needed to do next, still somewhat uneasy in her mobile suit. "Take us in! Time to collect our bounty!" The over zealous Captain puffed out his chest as he seemed to march down to the boarding hatch, Shotgun in one hand, and a rapier in the other. SHUDDER "What was that?!" Mahara exclaimed as the ship creaked under the impact of the barrage from the Pirate vessel. The young girl stumbled a little, the impact making her lose her balanace in her three inch heels. The whole crew looked around as they were in the middle of transporting cargo crates from the Pied Piper to their ship. "Pirates!" one of the Piper's 'mechanics' yelled as panic insued. "Way to go... ass." Robin grumbled in a hush tone as he shed his disguise in all the panic, drawing a hand gun and beginning to open fire. "Here we go..." "Sir, dock has been engaged, you are clear to board the enemy ves..." Before the tech could finish his sentence, the pirates were pouring into the corridors of the Solarium Masquerade, smoke grenades rolling everywhere as they cleared room after room. In their wake, Samuel took the chance to make a grand entrance. Smoke rolled off the floor, parting as the larger than life pirate stolled onto the ship, his shotgun slung over his shoulder and his rapier now at his side. "Save y'er selves the trouble n' surrender this ship to us! The Ol' Wraith has come for you!" The jolly old man chuckled as he stepped over a fallen rogue, taking care not to dirty his boots. "Sir, we have the engine rooms and the hangars cleared..." "Wonderful Robin!" "We have a group of them holed up in the Bridge though, they're not givin up very easily. Their Captain is nothing more than a young girl..." "Aye, so they be wantin' to make this interesting eh?" Samuel pulled Jacobin and a squad of his guerilla fighters and followed them to the bridge, where they met up with Robin and the crew of the Calypso. "How many of them scallywags await us in there my good friend?" "There isn't but a handful, we easily outnumber them Captain." "Aye, then shall we proceed?!" The Captain stood up and motioned to two of the guards to roll smoke grenades into the bridge. Grinning from ear to ear, he unshouldered his shotgun, gripping it with one hand, and drew his rapier in the other. "Shall we, ladies?" With out hesitation or fear, the Arse of Jupiter went barging into the Solarium Masquerade's brige, surrounded by his pirates. He greeted the resistance with a vigor of a man much younger than he appeared. Samuel fired a shot into one man's chest, blowing a hole clear through him, while skewering another one through with his rapier, kicking the lifeless body from his blade. "STOP!" The envading pirates knocked the remaining resistance unconscious as they all turned to the middle of the room to see a young woman in a corset and tight leather pants holding her hands in the air. Her lips seemed to curl up in anger as she glared at the old pirate captain. "There's no need for any more killing..." "Did not need t'be this way ma'am" Captain Samuel Riley chuckled as a young blonde girl seemed to slink into the room from behind the man. She wore a white vest, and what was much like a short skirt a school girl would wear. As she inched closer to the Solarium's Captain she stumbled a little, tripping over her own feet. ... The pirates all kinda cocked their head to the side as they watched Addie awkwardly recover. She paused for a moment, brushing her messey hair out of her eyes, momentarily losing track of what she was doing. Bringing her dark brown eyes back to focus on the provocatively dressed ship Captain she smiled, and slide up next to her. The blonde girl's hands caressed Mahara's hips, and around her waist, catching the rogue off guard. The Captain's eyes widened as she tried to figure out what was happening as the girl half molested her, half fumbled around her body. Samuel allowed a slight chuckle as he watched the awkwardness that was Addie trying to seduce Mahara; it was a little weird, but he didn't want to stop the girl. His pleasant face quickly turned to a wince of pain as Addie got frustrated with herself and just dropped Mahara to the ground. The pirate grabbed both of the Captain's arms and shoved her to the ground, binding them both behind her. She huffed in frustration as she stood up to see all her comrades staring blankly at the two women in the middle of the room. Their gaze was only broken by Jacobin, Robin and James marching in with the rest of the survivors, throwing them at the feet of their captain. "What shall we do with them sir?" "Well seein' as I'm in sucha good mood, 'tis their choice..." He paused for a moment, stroking his beard before looking down at the bloodied prisoners. "Aye, they can either agree t'man this here ship, or they can choose t'walk the plank, and forfeit their pitiful lives..." "As for her, throw the lil' missus in the brig!" Samuel Riley: 8 VP Gained, 6 CP Gained, Injured 1 Addie Joiner: 7 VP Gained, Repairing 0+1 James Radcliffe: 7 VP Gained, Repairing 0+1 Robin Sayer: 8 CP Gained, Injured 2 Jacobin Conroy:8 CP Gained, Injured 2 Mahara Villina: 4 VP Gained, 6 CP Gained, Injured 1, Captured Jon, you told me you would do this several days ago. You need to finish it. Everybody else, I'm posting results and we are moving on. Seth Yamanu - 9 CP Gained, Injured 3 Edmund Blackadder - 10/2+1 VP Gained, Destroyed 3 Jay Tessa - 9/2 VP Gained, Repairing +3 Injured 1 Jack Murphy - 9/2 VP Gained, Destroyed 3 Injured 3 Zanzen Hosei - 10/2 VP Gained, Repairing +4 Aaron McCaskey - 10 VP Gained, Repairing 3 Injured 3 Jarvis Ackart - 9/2 VP Gained, Repairing +3 Aurem Senaiha - 8 VP Gained, Repairing 5 Injured 3 Nigel Ferdinand - 9 VP Gained, Fatigued 2 Bigby Wolfe - 9 VP Gained, Repairing 2 Cray Vermillion - 9 VP Gained, Repairing 5 Ritter Novosad - 7 CP Gained, Injured 4 Alain Grace - 3/2 VP Gained, Repairing +4 Injured 4 Marion - 4 VP Gained, No Damage Bryce Hollerfelt - 8 VP Gained, Repairing 3 Fatigued 2 Duncan Keystone - 7 VP Gained, Repairing 5 Fatigued 3 Noelle Everett - 7 VP Gained, Repairing 5 Injured 1 Ferusha Glavadeen - 7/2 VP Gained, Repairing +2 Fatigued 3 |